Milford needs to front up after a loss

by PAUL MALONE

17th Apr 2019 4:30 PM
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THE choice to make Anthony Milford the Broncos' long-term playmaker came out of a belief by Anthony Griffin, Darren Lockyer and later Wayne Bennett that he would grow into the role and maybe become a bigger personality.

But Milford has looked downcast after emerging from the dressing-room after each of Brisbane's past two losses into the short-lived company of waiting reporters.

By declining interview requests after the loss to the Tigers last week he is not taking on the load which a club's best-paid player should during a run of defeats - which puts pressure on the entire organisation.

Milford's consistency in game management is short of what an NRL team needs, especially as he plays in concert with a running half, Kodi Nikorima, and it understandably is not his favourite topic of conversation.

While we can't hold everyone to the standards of Allan Langer, the four-time premiership captain was at his best publicly after a Broncos loss.

Langer would look to talk up his teammates even if it meant being critical of his own performance. Most importantly, he fronted as a Broncos figurehead player, saving someone else from the responsibility of picking the right words.

Allan Langer was never short of a word after a Broncos loss.

Lockyer, a member of the Broncos retention and recruitment committee for Griffin, Bennett and current coach Anthony Seibold, said this week he believes in Milford maturing into a more consistent playmaker.

The former champion playmaker cited Melbourne's cultivation of Cooper Cronk, a centre, into one of Australia's greatest halfbacks.

Lockyer was pivotal in keeping an uncertain Milford on track to honour a contract to join Brisbane in 2015 when he came under pressure to stay at Canberra and renege on the deal.

The contrast in Milford's body language at the moment is stark when placed beside that of 18-year-old Tom Dearden, who fizzed with energy at training on Monday.